


Chance at a normal life

by haukeakelii (orphan_account)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Peter Hale, Alpha Talia Hale, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angry Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, Child Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale & Derek Hale Are Twins, Derek Hale is Good With Kids, Everyone Is Alive, Good Guy Chris Argent, Good Parent Sheriff Stilinski, Good Peter Hale, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parents Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Powerful Stiles Stilinski, Slow Burn, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski is Good with Kids, Survival, Unplanned Pregnancy, Young Cora Hale, Young Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Young Laura Hale, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-29 05:46:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17802149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/haukeakelii
Summary: The Hale family doesn't know what to expect when they're recruited into the camp but they surely weren't ready for Stiles Stilinski.





	1. New beginnings

Derek watches with big eyes as the camp gets bigger and bigger as they drive towards it. This is not what he expected.

  
He expected a small camp with a few layers of fences around it and at least one person standing guard at the gate.

  
But this… this is on a new whole level. The barbed fence is taller than the bus he is currently in and there is no guard at the gate but on the inside of the fence, a tall lighthouse-like tower is standing strong and if Derek focuses enough, he can see a person standing at one of its windows.  
He glances further into the camp and notices tall, modern looking buildings and rows of houses but even further back, there is what looks like to be a military camp; a whole goddamn military camp inside a survivor camp.

 

“Derek, are you okay honey?” He looks at his mother and takes the sight in. Pregnant belly sticking out from under the tight shirt she is wearing. Her clothes, just like everyone's else in the bus expect the driver's, are dirty with mud and heavy dust. His whole family is wearing short pants as the summer heat is not kind on the werewolves.

  
Only his parents carry guns, his mother has a shotgun stuck in her belt and his father has a rifle in hand but their guns are nothing compared to the driver's. He asked the man what kind of gun he has on his back but the letters and numbers that came out of the man's mouth confused him but he knows it's a good gun. It was silent when the man came in to save them from the Bulks, the bullet going straight through the zombie's head, a clean in and out.

 

“I’m fine. Just nervous.” Derek and his family have been hiding away in the preserve all the way back in Beacon Hills. They had enough food and water stocked away in their tunnels so they never thought of leaving and looking for a survivor camp. They were happy there, in the preserve.

  
The zombies don’t hunt animals so the family of werewolves went out hunting every now and then just to have extra food but when their youngest, Mateo, encountered a zombie in the forest and shifted back into his human form because he panicked, the Hales knew it was time to leave. They packed as much as they could and kept on following the highway, hoping of getting as far as possible before more zombies came in.

 

They were doing fine, walking a few miles before camping out in their wolf shifts to avoid being noticed but then the Bulk came in while they tried to find supplies in a mall. The tall, fat and naked zombie that no one dared approach. It looked infected, even more so than the others, so the family dropped everything and made a run for the main exit but as they got closer, they noticed the big military vehicles outside the malls. They were trapped between the unknown and a monstrosity of a zombie.

 

Or so they thought.

  
They stayed glued to the main entrance, not touching the doors but not backing up either as they waited for the zombie to catch up to them. Talia and Peter, the strongest alphas in the pack, took stand in front of everyone else. It was an unspoken rule that everyone else was to stay away, that if the even one of the two main alphas was to fall death, the others had to run, to get away. But as soon as the zombie came in sight, the glass door behind them broke as a bullet flew straight into the zombie's head and made it out the other side before it hit the ground.  
None of the werewolves heard the gun go off from behind them, the only sound that filled the silent tension was the glass breaking and the bullet falling on the ground after killing the zombie who simply stayed up. It was clearly ‘dead' but the body refused to fall into the ground.

 

“Don’t worry baby, they will take care of us.” Derek hopes so. Even if they can’t take everyone in, at least his mother should be allowed stay in until after she gives birth. Of course their driver, Chris, already told them they will be safe inside and that there is space for everyone and more than enough food, but Derek refuses to believe it and he knows some of his family has doubts as well.

 

But they were given a choice when they exited the mall. Either keep walking after picking up the things they left behind but then they couldn’t take any supplies from the mall, or join the Stilinski Camp and whatever they grabbed during the raid was personally theirs. With Talia pregnant, they caved in and accepted. Shopping carts were taken in and filled the to brim while the Hales picked up some food and toiletries, Cora even daring to pick up a soccer ball and a few board games but Chris and his men said nothing so Talia let her have them.

 

“Everyone, grab your stuff! We are about to go in!” Chris yelled from the front of the bus. Everyone was busy picking up their backpacks but Derek's hearing picked up the sound of the gate opening. They are finally in. After hours of driving, they made it into the camp and for the first time, as Derek exist the bus from its middle door, he notices zombies trying to climb up the fence with no success. Somehow, no one of them make an attempt to go for the gate that is closing in but Derek is thankful for that. “Come on, keep it up.” Standing by Chris' side, is a middle aged man dressed in a sheriff uniform. The man's eyes are kind but his expression is unreadable. When everyone is out of the bus, a new man goes in and drives it away.

 

“Welcome to the Stilinski Camp.” He starts loudly, making sure he has everyone's attention on him. “I’m sheriff John Stilinski and as you know, Chris Argent here is our head hunter. I know you traveled for a long time but the day is still young so what I want all of you to do is follow Chris to the house I’ve appointed you to. You can all take a shower and relax for half an hour but then I want all the adults in my HQ. Chris will pick you up.” Derek wants to ask what is he and the other kids supposed to do but before he can open his mouth, his mother asks the question for him. “Normally I would say they have plenty to do inside but I want them to get to know the camp so my son will come over later and bring all of the kids out on a tour. Is that okay with you, ma'am?”

 

“Perfect.” Talia smiles at him, her arm wrapping around Cora's petite frame and bringing her into a side hug.

 

♤♡◇♧

 

The houses are all pretty big but if Derek understood right, usually more than one family shares a house. The Hale family is too big to share with anyone else so they get their own home and Peter loudly announces his surprise when Chris lets him know that a lot of the houses are still empty and that they plan to expand the camp so they can build even more.

 

What surprises the entire family is the technology. Back in their town, all energy was cut down. They had no electricity and no signal, no warm water either and even the water pressure seemed to weaken each week.  
But here, in their house, there is a working flat TV mounted into the wall in the living room and a play station right under it and Cora, Mateo and Matias took over it as soon as they showered. Laura and Derek explored the house after they were done showering and they were confused when they found no kitchen. They were hungry and wanted something to eat other than canned food but the room that is supposed to be the kitchen is a bedroom with three bunk beds and a huge wooden dresser.

 

The basement, from the looks of it, is only for stocking stuff and not for an emergency escape or panic room.

 

“Why is there no kitchen? Are we supposed to just open the cans and eat out of them?” Laura complains as soon as the parents are taken away by Chris. Normally Peter and his wife would stay behind to watch everyone but they all need to do as instructed so they don’t get kicked out of the camp. They are still new so they don’t know where the line that can’t be crossed is. “I’m so hungry that I could eat a horse.”

 

“Don’t say that, I saw a farm somewhere around here and I’m pretty sure I heard horses. If the sheriff hears you want to eat them…”

 

“But I’m hungry!”

 

“Then let’s get you something to eat.” No one expects the new voice to cut in but the boy that stands in the doorway looks smug, well aware that he managed to get in without alerting the werewolves. “I’m Stiles.”

 

“Hopefully that’s a nickname.” Cora doesn’t look away from her game as she speaks because Mateo is about to outrun her in Mario Cart and if she loses again then she’s going to throw an actual tantrum.

 

“It is. My real name is too much of a hassle so I took the family name and made it into a nickname.”

 

“You must be the Sheriff Stilinski’s kid then.” Laura is the first to approach the boy, reaching out her hand for a handshake. “I’m Laura. The grumpy guy there is Derek and the shorties on the sofa are Cora, Mateo and Matias. You’re here to show us around, right?”

 

“Bingo. I’m supposed to show you all around so how about we do that and then I will bring you to the canteen.” Derek wants to barf at the mention of a canteen. With their enchanted senses, canteen food is 10 times worse than is has the right to be. “Come on, let’s go.” He turns around and Derek raises an eyebrow at the metal bat that Stiles carries on his back. It doesn’t look like it could do actual damage but Derek doesn’t have any kind of weapon so be can’t be one to talk.

 

Everyone follows Stiles out. He is waiting in front of the house with a big smile on his face and his hand rest of his hips.

 

“Come here and face the house for me, please.” They do as instructed and keep silent. “This entire area-" he gestures with both hands “-is the housing area. If you want to visit anyone, the family names are on boards right outside the doors so you know who you’re visiting. You will get your own soon but until then I stuck that to the door.” Surely enough, there is a piece of paper on the door that says ‘Hale Family :)’. “You will find nothing but homes in this area.” He then turns around completely and so does the pack. “That area-" he points towards a set of tall buildings “-is what we call Center.” It takes around 30 minutes to walk all the way to the buildings but the closer they get, they all notice how many people are walking around, either trying to get their shopping done or simply walking their dogs. Some are drinking coffee at the outside tables of the coffee shops. It looks almost normal if it weren’t for the zombies clinging into the fence a few meters away from the facilities.

 

“Just to be clear, we can use our own currency, right? We don’t have to earn points or anything?” Laura asks and Stiles looks confused for a second.

 

“No, you don’t need to earn points. You can work and earn money, _dollars_ -" he specifies “-but you are all too young to work in the Center, at the farm or in the military so for now you don’t need to worry about it.”

 

“But what _can_ we do? I don’t want to sit around all day."

 

“You can help in the Canteen if you really want to but most of us just go to school.”

 

“We get to go to school?” Cora asks. She is scared that Stiles will say ‘of course we don’t have a school, we don’t have time for that in the middle of a fucking zombie apocalypse’ but Stiles, bless his fucking soul, smiles down at her before pointing towards a building. It's small but the windows are huge and above the entrance is a big ‘Welcome to our school' sign that Cora feels it's mocking her because she didn’t notice it.

 

“There is a special area in the school for kids under 5 but everyone above 5 and under 14 have the same classes. Everyone over 14 and under 18 also have the same classes.”

 

“But what about college?” Laura doesn’t want to push her luck but she had big plans before the zombie outbreak. She wanted to go to college in New York, go for a few more degrees then open her own law firm.

 

“We haven’t recruited any college professors yet but if there is anything you want to learn, you go directly to the source. If you want to learn medicine, just an example, you can go work at the hospital. Some days you will help around and some other days one of the doctors or one of nurses will sit down with you in a separate room and teach you what they know for a few hours.”

 

Stiles doesn’t say anything, allowing them to take it all in. He watches Derek for a while, because the boy looks as if he has so much to say but words just won’t come out because he doesn’t even know what to ask first and instead his mouth remains open, exposing his front bunny-like teeth. It's an adorable sight and it brings a smile on Stiles' face.

 

“What about opening our own business?” Laura asks finally and for a second, Stiles' smile widens even more but his eyes shift to Laura's right and his grin slowly disappears.

 

“Excuse me for a second.” Stiles walks past the Hale children with confident steps. They watch as he does so and realize what is going on. Close to the housing area is a Bulk, it's deformed body struggling to reach for anything but Derek can clearly see the claws on that thing and the acid dripping off of them and for some reason, Stiles approaches it.

 

“Stiles!” Cora hisses out loudly. They all want to run over and help, or at least pull him back and tell him to call someone with an actual gun. Derek starts moving but stops after taking a few steps when Stiles takes the bat off his back and rushes forward as he swings it. The head of the Bulk comes right off as Stiles went for the neck instead of the head. The body drops but the head is still making noise and its mouth bites into the air from where it landed on the ground but it can’t move, not even an inch. The sheriff's boy walks over to the head and points his bat at the very middle, cutting it in half with a final swing. “Jesus fucking Christ-" Cora wants to continue her profanities but Laura covers her mouth and points her free hand at their approaching parents. The sheriff, Chris and another tall man is with them and they are all smiling while Talia and the others looks confused.

 

“Maybe we should go over there.” Whispers Matias.

 

“We should…” Derek has very few words left after that little show but he wants to know why the heck Stiles, who can’t be older than him, is the one who took care of the zombie and where is the security and why the fuck is John smiling at his son as if he didn’t just risk his fucking life?! “Come on, let’s go.” He pushes Mateo and Matias forward as Laura sticks with Cora.

 

As they approach, they hear Chris and John praising Stiles but looking at Talia, the woman looks as if she wants to scold the recklessness.

 

“Rafael, get someone to take the body away please.” The man takes a walkie talkie out of his pocket and walks away to report the command in. “Don’t let this discourage you.” John faces the Hales now, smile gone and eyes sharp. “Very few zombies make it past the gate and those that do are easily taken care of. You will all be given weapons and Stiles here will be more than happy to teach you how to use them.”

 

“You're allowing a child to do that?! What kind of parent are you!” Talia silently agrees with her sister in law.

 

“He doesn’t have to allow me to do anything. It's not up to hi-" Chris can sense Stiles struggle to keep it down so he walks over and wraps a strong arm around the kid before pulling him into a side hug.

 

“Ma'am, I would appreciate if you didn’t question my parenting choices but it's true, I don't have a say in what Stiles does but I’m lucky that he still listens to me and helps me out. We are in the middle of a world wide crisis and as much as I would love to keep him innocent, or at least uninvolved, I know that at the end of the day he will do whatever he wants anyway. Just like you are werewolves and can take care of yourselves, my son here is a Spark and I trust him to use it if he needs it.”

 

“That’s why we couldn’t sense him when he came into the house.” Laura realizes. It makes her parents’ and uncle’s eyes widen in surprise but their aunt Cassandra looks calm. She is the only human in the pack but she’s met plenty of magic users before; never a spark though.

 

“And that’s why the zombie didn’t freak out when he approached it.” Derek concluded.

 

“Exactly.” Stiles looks right at Derek, almost in a challenging way. Challenging him to say something offensive. “Don’t look at me as if I’m just another little brat. Don’t dare look at any other kid here as if they can’t take care of themselves. We can and we will, you don’t need to worry about us.”

 

The authority in Stiles' voice makes Talia narrow her eyes in annoyance. She is the main Alpha in the pack and she is used to nothing but respect from everyone they encounter and Stiles seems to realize that because his focus is entirely on her.

 

“There is no reason to feel threatened.” Chris lets her know. “Stiles is not looking to dethrone you but don’t think for one second that you can go against him and make it out with all your limbs still attached to your body.”

 

“Settle down, sister. I doubt Stiles here wants to question your dominance over the pack.” Peter is smirking as he speaks and Stiles instantly knows that he likes the man.

 

“Stiles, I’m still hungry.” Laura breaks the tension and is happy when Stiles is focused on her once again. “Canteen?” She asks hopefully.

 

“Let’s go then.” John and Chris stay behind with the parents to go over the rules of the house once again and at one point Rafael joins them with for a few minutes while a few men wearing long leather coats and gas masks take care of the zombie and then clean and disinfect the area.

 

♤♡◇♧

 

“You should know that mom probably hates you now.” Cora’s words are messy, considering the huge amount of food she stuffed into her mouth but Stiles understands and he snorts.

 

“You should let her know that I don’t particularly give a damn.” Stiles doesn’t eat with them but he glances at everyone as they happily eat what they first thought to be horrible food. “By the way, you can eat at any time but don’t look for a breakfast meal if you show up at lunch.”

 

“Is there no ration?"

 

“Nope. We have more than enough resources, don’t worry.”

 

“Then why were you raiding the mall?”

 

“I don’t know if you noticed but our men didn’t pack anything eatable.” Laura and Derek look at each other and yes, Stiles is right. No one from the camp packed food. “We have gardens and a farm, we also have water tanks and water filters and we have boilers that heat up the water under each house so everyone can have warm water.”

 

“You are a little too prepared for this.” Laura couldn’t help herself and Derek doesn’t blame her. There is no sign of actual government intervention and yet the camp looks as if it's always been here, ready for use.

 

“I’m a Spark, remember? I put a good deal of my energy into the constructions so we could finish early and I boosted up the farm and gardens.” Stiles stops for a second to pull up the sleeve of his plaid shirt before laying his arm flat on the table with the inside of his wrist out so the Hale can see the tattoo of a cloud with rain pouring out of it. “This is what keeps the water coming. Without this, we would all be dying of thirst.” His hand flies to his collar, pulling it away to reveal yet another tattoo, this time of a roaring bear with a flower crown on its head. “This is where the strength from earlier comes from. A lot of people here have the same tattoo so we can all share that strength. Came in handy when we had to build this place up.” His hand lets go of the material of his tee and it wraps around his own neck in a nervous way while his other hand pats his thigh. “Got an Orchid here and you might want to get it as well in the near future. Everyone in the camp has this because as long as they do, I can bring them back to life. They could be dying in the middle of nowhere but nature will bring them back to me alive.” Stiles' voice raises the more he speaks and his usual smile is completely gone, replaced by a glare that Laura reciprocates.

 

“You have all that power and you used it on this?” Laura’s glare narrows. Mateo and Matias look up from their plates and then at everyone at the table. They’re not used to hearing people fight and it's clear that they’re getting uncomfortable.

 

“Don’t do this here.” Cora whispers, trying to calm Laura down by bringing her into a hug but the oldest of the Hale kids shakes her off as she rises to her feet. “Laura!”

 

“Are you fucking kidding me? You have all this power and instead of going out there to save people- or even better, help get rid of the zombies, you’re here wasting your magic juice on some people and a bunch of life stock!” People around them start murmuring, whispering about ‘the new comers disrespecting the Sheriff's son' but Laura doesn’t care and if anything, it only makes her angrier. “You should be out there, fighting like a man! But no.” Her voice drops and her expression becomes blank. “You chose to hide here like a goddamn coward.”

 

Stiles tilts his head to the side, his expression unreadable. His eyes size Laura up even as Cora stands up and tries to pull her away from the table. Derek is quiet because he knows Mateo and Matias look up to him and will react badly if he seems upset or mad.  
The spark stands up, legs swiftly stepping over the bench. He freezes then, for a few seconds, as if trying to find his words and when Laura opens her mouth, ready to say more, Stiles nods his head in acknowledgment.

 

“I’m sorry.” He starts, looking Laura right in the eyes. “I’m sorry that I tried to do something for people. I’m sorry that I chose to help my father open a camp. I’m sorry, I truly am, that I wanted to make it livable. I'm sorry that I can’t leave because if I step foot outside of the wards, everything here will crumble to the ground. All those people I healed and brought back to life will die. The animals will die. The plants will die. The buildings will collapse and if you would have bothered to ask then you would know it's not just ‘some' people who will lose everything. We have thousands of people in the camp and we still allow more to come in and make themselves at home because that’s why we opened the fucking camp! We have new people coming in every day but sure, I will let all those people down because a brat doesn't know what her priorities should be.” He takes a deep breath then looks at every Hale at a time as he say “Leave. If you don’t like the way things work here then just leave.” Stiles says nothing more as he turns around and leaves.

 

The Hale kids watch in silence. Laura's expression is still dark as she shakes her head in disbelief before taking her leave as well while Cora just collapses back into the bench.  
Mateo and Matias stopped eating, their tiny hands shaking but their grips on the forks getting tighter.

 

The entire canteen went silent, perhaps waiting for the newcomers to leave before they can finally feel safe to talk again.

 

“Come on, eat your food and let's go.”

 

The youngest ones do but Cora feels sick and Derek himself pushes his plate away. He now wonders if they will have to pack their belongings and leave.

 

He hopes not.


	2. Sometimes friends become nothing more than strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how happy I am that this fic is already doing so well!
> 
> I will try to keep up the work!
> 
> I just want you guys to know that this fic will go very slow because I'm trying something new when it comes to writing. I usually try to evenly skip time but I will do my best in skipping as little as possible on this one! So buckle up for a slow ride ^_^

“Maybe we should start packing when we get to the house.” Cora suggests, hands gently pushing at Mateo's shoulders in order to guide him back home. Derek hums in agreement because after the show his sister put out there, they’re surely going to be kicked out. “Say bye-bye to warm water.” She sighs and Derek follows her action.

 

They have been here for a day, haven’t even seen much so far, and yet they want to stay. The people are nice and there doesn’t seem to be anything they will have to live without just because the zombie outbreak took it away from them. They’re happy here and for a slight second, Derek selfishly thinks about letting the Sheriff kick Laura out but keep everyone else but he knows that’s not how packs work; they have to stay together but they will beg for Talia to be allowed to remain if they have to because soon the pregnancy will force her into bed rest.

 

“I don't want to leave.”

 

“We don’t want to leave either, Mati'. But Laura did something bad in the canteen and now the Sheriff is probably mad at us. We can't stay if he doesn’t want us here.” Matias frowns from his spot, which is on Derek's hip.

 

“But mister Chris said we can stay.”

 

“I know but that’s not up to him. Sheriff is the one running the camp.” Matias clenches his jaw, obviously not understanding what Derek means so the older brother tries again, this time using the word Alpha to refer to the Sheriff. “If the Alpha of the camp doesn't want us here then we have to go.”

 

Matias’ lips form a pout but otherwise he says nothing, only leaning more into Derek and resting his head on his brother's shoulder.

 

Derek can do nothing more than kiss the boy's head and hope for the best.

 

♤♡◇♧

 

A blonde woman is waiting outside of their house, pregnant belly covered by the soft dress she is wearing. She looks angry, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest as her foot taps into the hardwood of their porch.

 

Her eyes widen for a second when she spots the Hale kids. Derek can smell her and despite being human, the blonde is terrifying.

 

“Tell your older sister that if she ever does this again I will feed her to the zombies. Stiles is crying his eyes out because of her and my baby Isaac is crying because of him.” She takes careful steps towards them, sizing them up with her eyes. “Not only that but I knocked on the door, she answered and then she slammed the door in my face. Tell your mother that if she’s not going to put a leash on her then I will. Did I make myself clear?”

 

“Crystal.” She seems satisfied, nodding her head at the instead of saying goodbye before she takes off and Cora lets out an amazed ‘wow' as she watches the woman. “That woman is the Devil.” Derek concludes.

 

“Or his wife. I’m pretty sure she's carrying a mini Satan right now but I don’t care, I want to be like her when I grow up.” Derek snorts in response but his smirk wears off. He can hear their mother scolding Laura who yells back at her. “I don’t want to go in.” His twin whispers, looking down at the ground. The yelling makes her anxious and knowing that she will probably have to pack and then leave first thing in the morning makes her even more hesitant to go in. “I will go look for Stiles.” She says loudly and before she leaves, she makes sure to give Mateo and Matias kisses on their foreheads and Derek on his cheek. She hums in response when Derek tells her to come back soon, since they still don’t know when the curfew is.

 

“Take care, Cor'.”

 

“Will do!”

 

♤♡◇♧

 

Now, Cora doesn’t know if this has been a good idea. For all she knows, Stiles could be living in the HQ with his father but Stiles' scent is all over the place so she has to give the housing area a chance.  
All houses are the same. Built the same way, all painted in white with blue rooftops and light brown porches and as Stiles mentioned, there are little boards on the right of each door that spell out the names of the families living inside.

 

She sees Argent on one board, with a McCall board right under. Only one light is on, in the room with the bunk beds. She only knows one Argent so she doesn’t bother. Who knows who's home? She doesn't want to meet new people just yet. They make her nervous which results in her not being able to make eye contact -which she knows it's annoying for a lot of people but she can’t help it-.

 

She keeps walking between the houses but Cora is aware that she is getting close to the end of the housing area. Luckily, Stiles' scent seems to be getting stronger the further she walks and she finds the boy sitting on a porch swing with a baby in his lap and in front of them is the blonde women from earlier who is sat down at a table.

Cora doesn’t get close, wanting to analyze the situation first.  
Stiles does smell like tears and sorrow but the fragrance of anger is still lingering from earlier. He is still shedding tears, she can tell because the baby wipes them off roughly for him and Stiles smiles in return but it's the saddest smile Cora has ever seen.

 

“Do you think that I did wrong when I put up the wards?” Cora watches from afar still. She doesn’t mean to intrude but she is not leaving until she apologizes on the behalf of her rude sister. But she also doesn’t want to interrupt so she awaits.

 

“Honey, of course you did nothing wrong. You were just trying to protect the little you had and now look at you, taking care of so many people.”

 

“What if it's not enough?” The baby in his lap squirms uncomfortably, probably upset that Stiles stopped rocking them on the swing. Stiles starts pushing at the floor again and the baby settles down against the boy's chest.

 

Cora feels like she has to step in, because the woman opens her mouth but no sound comes out. She doesn’t know what to say but Cora does.

 

“You're doing more than enough.” Their heads snap towards her. The woman glares at her but Cora knows it's because of Laura so she doesn’t get upset. The baby watches Cora with big curious eyes while Stiles gulps nervously, waiting for Cora to make herself clear. “I’m sorry about Laura. She's always been a pain in the ass but even more so after the outbreak.” She walks over but doesn’t dare climb the stairs up to them. “She had big plans before the outbreak-" The woman snorts, as if saying ‘we all did' “-This might be the best camp there is but it's not the real world. She wanted to go to college so badly, you can’t blame her for that, but you can blame her for her attitude. That show she put on in the canteen was not okay and again, I apologize on her behalf because I know she won’t.”

 

“You shouldn’t have to apologize for her. I don’t want her apology either but I don't want her to start that conversation with me ever again, at least not with that attitude. She doesn’t know my story.”

 

“None of us do but if you want to talk about anything then-" I’m here for you, is what she wants to say but she is reminded that they will probably have to leave. “I am listening.”

 

“Maybe some day.”

 

“Some day I might not be here.”

 

“Why wouldn't you? Decided to leave after all?”

 

“Well… I assumed that after what Laura did we were no longer welcomed.” Stiles sighs. He stands up with the baby still in his arms as he approaches the door and for the first time Cora notices the name boards but there is no Stilinski board, causing her to sigh in defeat internally.

 

“You can stay. I’m not that petty and if you thought I was then maybe it's best to keep your distance as much as possible. You’re not your sister, but if you think I’m cruel enough to throw you out, with children and a pregnant woman in your family nonetheless, then you’re not much better.” Stiles looks back at the woman, letting her know that he's going to sleep over and that he will put Isaac to bed himself.

 

“I will come inside too. If Boyd seems me outside, he is going to flip.” With his free hand, Stiles helps the woman up from her chair and doesn’t let go until he has to open the door and let her go in first. “Night kid.” She yells from inside, addressing Cora.

 

“Good night Cora.”

 

“Good night.” She whispers, looking at the ground. She doesn’t dare look him in the eyes but she knows he is looking at her for a moment before going inside.

 

_Now she's the one who fucked up._

_Just great._

 

♤♡◇♧

 

“I hope you’re happy.” Is the first thing Cora tells Laura as soon as she goes inside. Laura is sulking on the sofa, eyes narrowed and lips pursed into a thin line.

 

“Mom already gave me a lecture, I don’t need one from you.”

 

Derek watches from the recliner but says nothing.

 

“You need one from everyone. You’re lucky that we don’t have to leave, otherwise I would have pushed you into the first zombie I see, you selfish idiot.” Laura doesn’t say anything, instead she gets up and goes upstairs. “They should kick you out!” Talia comes downstairs, a hand trailing the balustrade and a hand resting on her stomach. “I’m not saying sorry.” Cora tells her mother, her own arms crossing over her chest. She throws herself on the sofa, taking up the entire space.

 

The alpha sighs, exhaustion clear on her expression. She goes up to the sofa and instead of going around it to sit next to her daughter, Talia leans into the backrest to look down at Cora.

 

“I don’t have all the details but I don’t want you girls to fight.”

 

“Oh I will tell you the details if the princess didn’t bother to.”

 

“Chris already filled me in with some. Someone from the canteen called him while he was still here. Was it really that bad?”

 

“Very bad. She acted so spoiled, mama. I want to have a normal life too but I know we can’t have that anymore. You don’t see me giving someone else hell because the world has gone to shit.” Talia’s hand gently taps Cora on her lips, reminding her that she should mind her language. “Sorry but it's true.”

 

“Estará bien, cariño. Laura will go apologize in the morning.”

 

“Stiles doesn’t want her apology. He wants her to stay away unless she changes her attitude.”

 

“Then she will stay away.” Talia leans down to press a kiss on her forehead then doing the same to Derek. “Go to sleep. We have work to do in the morning.”

 

“Ok mami.”

 

“Buenas noches mamá.”

 

“Good night, loves.”

 

♤♡◇♧

 

Morning comes, announced by a loud alarm that seems to be coming from the outside of their house.

 

“This is our wake up call?” Derek groans, covering his face with one of his pillows.

 

The twins pushed the bunk beds together last night so it's easy for Cora to lean over and snatch his pillow away. Matias and Mateo were already sharing the bottom of a bed when Derek decided they should all sleep together so it's his fault that now Cora is so close to him. He just made it easier for her to bother him.

 

“Wake up brothers!” The boys groan in unison, Mateo even throwing his soft pillow at her but then there is a knock on the door and they know that they have to get up. They don’t know what for exactly but they know they have to.

 

While getting dressed, they listen to Peter opening the door and greeting Chris, welcoming him in and saying ‘I would offer a cup of coffee but I do believe that we need to go to the canteen for that' and Derek smirks at the words because they're just so characteristically Peter. The man always knows what to say and when to say it because he is programmed to always have something to say. It might not be appropriate but he doesn’t care and Cora loves him to the moon and back for back.

 

“Good morning uncle Peter!” The kids say in unison, one by one leaving their bedroom. The youngest two wave shyly at Chris, Derek choosing to go for a handshake while Cora only nods her greeting while she passes through the living room to get to the bathroom, where Mateo and Matias are already brushing their teeth. “Move over shorties.” Cora smiles down at her little brothers, even ruffling Matias' hair.

 

They finish together, loudly announcing that the bathroom is free.

 

Laura enters next, going straight for the shower -which allows Derek to go in and brush his own teeth-. Cora doesn’t greet Laura, neither does Derek, but Mateo and Matias wish her a sweet ‘good morning' as they pass by her because they are just kids and as much as Cora would love for them to be mad at Laura, she knows that kids will be kids and they shouldn’t be forced to join sides.

 

“So, Mr. Chris.” Cora ignores the disapproving look she gets from her parents when she throws herself on the sofa next to the hunter. “What are we doing today?”

 

“Well, Miss Cora-" he teases with a smirk “-I thought it would be a good idea to assist on your daily routine.” Just in time for Laura and Derek to walk in. Derek sits on the floor, deeming it more comfortable than the recliner. The oldest sister doesn’t want to sit next to Cora so she takes the recliner even with her Uncle Peter sitting on one of its armrests. “So. As you all heard, there is a wake up call. We like to start our days early so I don’t suggest staying up late.” Chris unzips his vest, pulling out a notebook. He shuffles through some of the pages, most likely he already made a list of what everyone needs to do. “Let's start with Talia. Since you are pregnant, I don’t want you out of the house too often. You can still go to the canteen or to the Center, just make sure to have someone with you.”

 

“What if no one can come with me?” Because Talia assumes that if she gets a list of things she has to do then everyone else has a list.

 

“Your husband is to stay home with you, so you don’t have to worry.” Alexander sneaks an arm around Talia to squeeze her into a hug, knowing she doesn’t like being treated like a kid. “Peter and Cassandra, is there anything you would like to do?” Peter, without hesitation, chooses the military. “I will have someone bring you to the military camp once I’m done here. I want you to spend a day there before you come to a final decision.” Their uncle doesn’t mind, if anything, he looks cocky, already knowing his own answer. “Cassandra?”

 

“I used to be a photographer at weddings but I guess that’s out of question?” Chris' sad smile says it all. “Is there anything art related that I can do?”

 

“You can be an art teacher at the school for the younger kids. They will love finger painting.” Cassandra first looks at Peter, as if asking if it's okay but the werewolf just smiles back and Chris knows it's been decided. “You will start tomorrow with the kids an-”

 

“I’m 18, what do I do?” Laura interrupts.

 

“You can work or join the military, whichever you want.”

 

“I want to go to college.” Cora rolls her eyes while their mother sighs, already tired of the conversation that is to unfold.

 

“We don’t have college here. You can work whatever you want and gain knowledge and experience through that.”

 

“Yeah, Stiles already said that.” She states in a dismissing tone. “Is there any chance that you can just build another building and throw a bunch of professionals in the there and call it a college?” Chris is silent, looking shocked.

 

Never, since Chris has first stepped foot into the camp, had anyone demanded anything like this. Everyone else has been happy with the little they had and then kept on being grateful even when the camp started to bloom into the closed in society that it is today. But Laura wants more and her glare says ‘I dare you to tell me no' but that is exactly what Chris does because :

1\. Laura is asking the wrong person. All projects first go through the Sheriff and his son before given to their architects who give the final okay.

 

and

 

2.All the ‘professionals' have to keep working. They can't just take a doctor and have them teach everyone, everyday, instead of being at the hospital, helping out. Even the doctors are still learning, some of them still grooming the power Stiles gave them and they have been working so hard just to give Stiles a break from having to heal everyone all by himself. Of course Deaton helps at the hospital but that is only with the supernatural, he can't help humans.

 

“I’m afraid I’m not the one you have to ask but I can tell you now that the answer will still be no.” Chris' voice is breathy. He sounds so, so tired but he clears his throat and goes back to his list. “For now I want you to go in the Center and check out the place for yourself. There are no ‘we are hiring’ signs here since everyone is welcomed to work. You can have whatever job you want as long as it is within your experience. As for you 4-" he addresses the other kids “-today you are free to explore but tomorrow you will start school. We have a school bus that will be here in the morning. Someone will come here later with school supplies and with schedules for you."

 

“Now wait a second, are they supposed to walk around all by themselves? Why can’t Stiles finish the tour from yesterday?” Talia knows very well that Laura and Stiles ‘had a fight' but that should not be a reason for her kids to go out there all alone.

 

“First of all, Stiles is at school. Second of all, I’m not sure that he wants to see your oldest daughter unless necessary.” His scent takes a turn around, from smelling like illness and exhaustion to anger and annoyance. “You all have walkie talkies under your beds. Don’t hesitate to use them.” And just like that, he takes his leave after saying that he will be back tomorrow.

 

Laura does nothing more than roll her eyes, unfolding her crossed arms only to push herself out of the recliner so she could get herself ready to go to the Center.

 

Meanwhile, Cora and Derek have Mateo and Matias to worry about so they take all four walkie talkies from under their beds. They strap one each onto the boys' belt loops.  
Cora doesn’t like carrying a backpack or putting heavy items into her pockets so she changes into a dress and uses one of Matias' belts as a thigh strap to keep her walkie talkie in place. She cringes visibly at Derek just shoving his onto a pocket as if it weights nothing.

 

“I will come with you.” Cassandra offers with a smile, standing in the doorway. She too changed her clothes, choosing a light green dress and flats of the same color. Her long, black hair is held in a high ponytail, rebel strands falling on the sides of her face. For the first time in a long while, her skin is glowing; it makes her look young and healthy again and Peter watches her with soft eyes from his spot on the sofa. “I need to find out where the school is after all.” She winks so they know she truly wants to be there for them. Human or not, she was born with the instinct to protect and cherish and she might never be able to have kids of her own, but she sure as hell will take care of any child that crosses her path. It's how she works and it's why Peter knew she was the one for him and it's why the Hale kids approved of her from day one. They might have given her some trouble in the beginning to test the waters, but that’s all behind them now.

 

“Take care of my kids, Cassandra!” Talia yells from upstairs. Peter rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can hear your eyes rolling, Peter. Stop it!”

 

“Oh come on! I doubt you heard that!” Mateo is the first to run up to his uncle, to give him a hug and say bye. Matias follows right up, because that’s just the way the two of them work but Cora and Derek go in for a group hug. “Try to avoid troubles for once. That applies to you as well, Cassandra.” Despite hitting back with an ‘how dare you!’, Cassandra kisses her husband.

 

“We're out!” Cora yells for her mother. “To the Center!”

 

Derek gasps at the new weight that is suddenly on his back but says nothing. Instead, he only helps Cora get comfortable and he thanks Cassandra for opening the door for them both.

 

Cora is giggling right into his ear and that is enough for him to tighten his grip on her, just in case.

 

It's been a while since she last laughed…


End file.
